THOSE WERE THE DAYS

By AN OCTOGENARIAN

The Bridge on the River Kwai’ Though filmed in Sri Lanka was the award winning movie ‘The Bridge on the river Kwai,’ which was based on the building of a bridge 277 miles in length connecting Burma ( now known as Myanmar ) with Siam ( now known as Thailand ) during World War II by prisoners of war held by the Japanese. These POW were from Britain, Australia Holland , USA and around 200,000 conscripted civilians.

The highlight of the movie was the blowing up of the specially constructed bridge which spanned the Kelani Ganga in the picturesque and sleepy village of Kitulgala located at the foot of the Gingathena Pass. Directed by David Lean, it featured a star cast which included Sir Alec Guinness, William Holden, Jack Hawkins, Sessue Hayakawa and Anne Seans all of whom visited this island for the filming. Also included in this team was our own cameraman Willie Blake who was renowned for his filming of jungle life.

This movie will best be remembered for the “Colonel Bogey March,” which was whistled by the Allied prisoners of war as they marched on the orders of their Japanese captors. But mischievous schoolboys made the tune more spicy by introducing ribald and humorous lyrics about some of the war-time German Generals.

Emily and Vada Kaha Sudiya

June 20, 1955 will be always remembered as the day when there was a early morning total eclipse of the sun leaving Colombo in complete darkness. It was declared as a special holiday for schools. But there is another and no doubt a more popular reason for remembering this day. The baila describing the adventures of Emily who ‘daval kalay, ra vunu e davase’ consumed a decoction called ‘Vada kaha Sudiya’ in the hope of transforming her dark complexion into a fair and more attractive one. Poor Emily did not achieve her much desired objective but according to that baila all she did was to vomit !

Movies and Actors

Schoolboys who had only a limited amount of pocket money would pay 50 cents and sit in the gallery also called the ‘gallows’ which was located right in front of the cinema hall only a few yards from the screen to view their favorite movies. One of the most popular movies was the ‘Tarzan’ series featuring Johnny Weissmuller and Maureen O’Sullivan. Weissmuller’s fame was not so much as an actor but as a swimmer. Participating in the 1924 Paris Olympics and later in the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics he won a total of five gold medals.

This was also the time when the exploits of James Bond better known as the ’Saint’ co-authored by Leslie Charteris and Ian Fleming were featured in a series of novels which were avidly read by teenagers. Some of these novels were transformed into movies, beginning with “Doctor No” featuring Sean Connery in the lead role who almost overnight became one of the most popular Hollywood actors.

It was also the time when comics – a cartoon type of stories featuring heroes such as Captain Marvel, Superman, Batman, Spiderman and Tin Tin were surreptitiously read by schoolboys in preference to their school text books. Musically it was the time of Richard Clayderman , Billy Vaughn and his Orchestra, Frank Sinatra, Neil Diamond, Elton John , Nat King Cole , ABBA, The Beatles, The Platters and The Carpenters- sadly, this pair of siblings – Karen and Richard met with tragic ends. The former suffering from anorexia died of heart failure while the latter became a drug addict. Much later came the colorful and controversial Michael Jackson.

‘Blackboard Jungle’ was the movie in which Bill Hayley and his Comets sang ‘Rock Around the Clock’ as a result of which the younger generation put aside the traditional Quick Step and Waltzes which demanded nimble footwork and a close synchronization with one’s partner. Instead they adopted the gyrating type of dancing which anyone with even a basic sense of rhythm could do. On the opening night of this movie at the Savoy Cinema a group of youngsters got onto the stage and started performing the Rock and Roll. The Police had to be summoned to stop them and lead them outside the cinema hall.

Consumer Items

Some of the brands which have disappeared from our Super Market shelves in recent times were Lyles Golden Syrup, IXL Jam, Angiers Emulsion, Waterbury’s Compound , Andrews Liver Salts, Sunny South Butter, Globe Butter, Peek Freans Biscuits, Dutch Ball Cheese, Brylcream – a hair cream for men the press advertisement of which featured the popular English cricketer Dennis Compton, Cow & Gate milk powder, Ferradol, Farleys

Baby Rusks, Robinsons Patent Barley and Nabisco Biscuits. Mention must be made of two popular favorites amongst school boys. Bubble Gum and Bulto. The former was a type of chewing gum which with the flexibility of the tongue one was able to actually blow a bubble through the lips. Bulto was supposedly a misadventure which became a roaring success.

As to why it was given this name nobody seems to know. But the creator of this delicacy was an ‘Achchi’ who while making Kaludodol over-did the frying process and the expected Kaludodol became a sweet, hard, sticky mass. This was cut into pieces, wrapped in oil paper and sold. Overnight chewing Bulltoe became the latest craze. One could keep on chewing it for hours and most often it would get stuck between the upper and lower jaw teeth! Furthermore unlike chewing gum or bubble gum which had to be spat out after the chewing process was over. Bulltoe was meant to be chewed until it finally melted and what remained was swallowed.

Shopping, was a pleasant experience specially in Fort were there were the large department stores which were perhaps the precursor of the modern Super Markets – Whiteway Laidway more often referred to as Whitaways, Cargills, Millers, Broughams, and Colombo Apothecaries. There was also Caves which specialized in the sale of books. Opposite the Fort Railway Station was that landmark shop with the majestic name of ‘Fireworks Palace’. As the name indicates here could be found an abundance of fire-works. Amidst this vast array were Catherine Wheels, Squibs, Sky Rockets, Sparklers, Chinese Crackers which could be safely held in the hand as they burst with a tolerable bang.

For the more adventurous there was the ‘Ali Dong’ a cracker which went off like a bomb. At the far end along Dam Street in Pettah, was Mabel Stores, which stocked a whole heap of discarded military goods, such as boots, parachute silk, rolls of barbed wire, berets, kaki jackets, Woodbine cigarettes, and according to Walter Fernando –a leading hockey player in his time, Mabel Stores also stocked hockey sticks, and pads.

Pettah can also claim to have a fascinating collection of Dutch memorabilia such as street signs, steam rollers and printing presses, which are housed in the old Town Hall which was reconstructed to be a Dutch Museum with aid from institutions such as the Netherlands –Sri Lanka Foundation in the Hague and the Netherlands Alumni Association of Sri Lanka. Most unfortunately it is ‘Temporally Closed’ For how long is ‘Temporally’ is anybody’s guess.

Restaurants

Fountain Cafe which was owned by Ceylon Cold Stores, was essentially a family restaurant serving a vast array of tasty food amongst which were rolls, cutlets, patties , hot dogs. But their specialty was the sauce made, so it was claimed, according to a secret recipe. Little wonder that no other restaurant could match this delicacy . Alas! this iconic restaurant is no more.

Then there was Lion House located opposite the Majestic theater which was equally popular but for a different reason. It was open day and night and this was where groups or couples would stop their cars in the early hours of the morning after a Saturday night dance, to fortify themselves with egg hoppers and coffee served to the car door.

From Radio to TV

December 16, 1925 was a milestone in the history of broadcasting. It started with Colombo Radio, the first radio station in Asia and the second in the world. In October 1949 Colombo Radio was changed to Radio Ceylon, then in 1967 there was another name change – Ceylon Broadcasting Corporation., and finally when our island became a Republic in 1972 the present name was used – Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation.

With due respect to the many announcers whose voices gave life to radio broadcasting three names must be mentioned – Greg Roskowski, Vernon Corea and Bob Harvey. Of Sinhala announcers there is one name which stands out- Karunaratne Abeysekera

On April 15, 1979 Sri Lanka leapfrogged into the color TV era bypassing black and white TV thanks to two businessmen –Anil Wijewardena and Shan Wickremesinghe The new channel was called Independent Television Network (ITN) and commenced broadcasts from a small building in Pannipitiya. However on June 5 of that year ITN was taken over by the Government.